Electric bowling game

ABSTRACT

An electric bowling game wherein illuminated bowling pins are displayed in their normal triangular set arrangement in a spaced position above the alley and a conductive ball is moved down the alley to contact brush switch elements positioned below the illuminated pins and in substantially the same orientation, the contact with which extinguishes respective ones of the lighted pins in correlation with the path of the ball displaying the pins that are simulated as having been knocked down, all of which is accomplished through mechanical and circuit connections that do not have any moving parts.

United States Patent 1 1 3,595,574 [721 Inventor John L. Salter 2,722,421 11/1955 Nicolaus 273/126 (A) 4301 Mount .Ieflers Ave., San Diego, Calif. 3,082,000 3/1963 Holcombe 273/41 [2H A l N 33 2 FOREIGN PATENTS o I22 I f Man 3' 969 80,867 4/1895 Germany 273/41 [45] Patented July 27, 1971 Primary ExaminerAnton O. Oechsle Attorney-Carl R. Brown [54] ELECTRIC BOWLING GAME 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs. U.S. An electric bowling game wherein illuminated 200/6111 bowling pins are displayed in their normal triangular set arl Ill- Cl. fangement in a paced position above the alley and a conduc. l, tive is moved down the alley to ontact brush witch ele- 52 61-41; 273/41 127; 40/126 B ments positioned below the illuminated pins and in substan- References cited tially the same orientation, the contact with which extinguishes respective ones of the lighted pins in correlation with UMTEDSTATES PATENTS the path of the ball displaying the pins that are simulated as 2,541,303 2/1951 Smith 40/ 126 (B) having been knocked down, all of which is accomplished 1,125,059 1/1915 Carroll et ...200/52 (B) UX through mechanical and circuit connections that do not have 2,673,637 3/ 1954 Collins et al 273/41 X any moving parts.

PATENTED JULET um sum 1 BF 2 42 VOLTAGE FIG.2

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F I G. 5 INVENTOR.

JOHN L. SAFFER ATTORNEY PATENTED JUL27 E97! 3' 5% SHEET 2 OF 2 L6 L7 L8 L9 LIO MOMENTARY SWITCH POWER SUPPLY INVENTOR.

JOHN L. SAFFER Gan/QM ATTORNEY ELECTRIC BOWLING GAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION have been knocked down, or cause movement of physical pin simulating devices in an up and down movement. The switch mechanisms used are complicated and expensive to manufacture, are often unreliable in use and require complicated ancillary mechanisms, and further tend to unduly deflect or incorrectly deflect the ball upon movement across the switching devices. In many of such devices, it has been necessary to provide a mechanical mechanism for moving small pins up or down to simulate pins that have been knocked down in the game. To simulate the pins in another manner, light-type devices have been used that project light beams vertically on the alleys. This approach only provides very faint lights making it difficult to distinguish which of several light beams have been extinguished. The devices that provide an illuminated backboard display are undesirable in that they do not provide an illustration of the position of the pins relative to the players movement of the ball. Thus the player is not able to coordinate the movement of the ball to the extent necessary to create interest in the game. This is especially true relative to the second ball in a frame.

Accordingly, these known devices have many limitations through mechanical complexity, electrical complexity, general unreliability of the mechanical and electrical circuits requiring expensive mechanical switching circuits as well as electrical circuits, and not providing a representative illus trated pin arrangement that easily and inexpensively causes the pins knocked down to be removed from the initial set after the first ball has been rolled. Therefore it is advantageous to have a bowling game device that is inexpensive and relatively simple to construct, employs a simplified circuit arrangement with a switch mechanism that i has no moving parts and that employs illuminated pins that are quickly and easily seen and which pin lights are extinguished in relationship of the movement to the ball, so that second balls in each frame of the bowling game may be moved to knock downthe remaining illuminated pins.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ln an embodiment 'of this invention, an alley has at one end a plurality of lighted pins that are supported above the surface of the alley; Brush-type electrical connectors are oriented relative to the location of the pins and drape downwardly toward a conductive plate positioned on the alley. A conductive ball contacts the plate and respective ones of the brushes, closing circuit channels that extinguish respective ones of the illuminated pins. The strategically located wire brushes comprise ,momentary switching elements that in connection with the conductive plate, extinguish ones of the horizontally positioned pins to give the illumination and display of pins that have not been knocked down. The pins may be lightbulbs shaped like bowling pins or can be made of plastic, glass or other type material that can be illuminated through one end. In each case, the light from the pins do not illuminate adjacent nonilluminated pins. Thus the player can easily restrict his concentration to only those pins that are illuminated. The conductor balls are returned by a suitable return mechanism for continued play of the game. No back plate display is required in playing the game, rather the horizontal pin arrangement with illumination provides a true representation of the actual game of bowling and allows the balls to be moved relative to the pins to simulate the actual knocking down of the pins.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved bowling game device.

- It is another object of this invention to provide a new and moving parts other than the movement of the ball.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved bowling game device that employs illuminated pins shaped like bowling pins arranged the same as normal bowling pins, and which pins are selectively extinguished to display pins that have been knocked down in the play of the game.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved electrical bowling game device that does not require mechanical actuation of switch mechanisms by moving balls.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved electrical bowling device that is simple and relatively inexpensive to build, that employs solid state electronic components having increased reliability, and that does not require any mechanically operating parts.

Other objects and many advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and an examination of the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the bowling game device of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view with parts broken away taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the circuit connection and inner structural orientation that controls the illumination of the pin lights in the bowling game apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a chart illustrating the brush contact control of pin I light illumination in an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates schematicallythe relative positioning of the brush contacts and the pin lights in an embodiment of the invention.

HO. 6 is a schematic and block diagram of an embodiment of the control circuit employed in the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a bowling game apparatus 10 has a structural shell with longitudinal side members 18 and 30, an alley surface 36, a front support member and a lower surface member 20. Secured to the back member 34 is an upper triangular support plate 26 that supports a plurality of lights 28 thereon in appropriate sockets that are arranged in the typical pin setting of a bowling game. The structural shell may be made of wood, plastic, or other suitable materials that preferably are not electrical conductors. Positioned on the upper surface of the alley 36 is a conductor plate 24 that has a shape substantially corresponding to the front shape of the support member 26. A plurality of contact brushes 48 are secured to the underneath surface of member 26 in substantially the same orientation as the pins 28. The spacings between member 26 and plate 24 is such that a conductive ball 22 or 38 rolling on the alley surface 36 will close an electrical circuit between the conductor plate 24 and the conductor wires of the brushes 48. Brushes 48 and plate 24 are connected in an electrical circuit through representative conductor lines 46 and 50, which circuit switches off given ones of the lamps 28. The conductive ball then passes down the inclined surface of alley 36 in the direction of the arrow and rolls down the surface of lower plate 20 in the manner illustrated relative to the returned reservoir position of the balls 12 in the recess 14.

The pin lamps 28 are positioned in the holes in member 26, and may be made of plastic, glass or any equivalent or suitable materials that may be shaped to form the bowling pins. These bowling pins may be light bulbs made in the shape of bowling pins, or they may be made separate from a lighting element, such as a light bulb 44. The pins 28 are normally made of clear or transparent material. However the outside pin surface is player between illuminated and nonilluminated pins, which contrast aids in the effect play of the game.

The balls 22, 38, 40, 42 and 52 are either made of a conducting metal or may have a conductive outside surface. The combination of the conducting balls and conductor plate 24 provide a given closed circuit for extinguishing individual ones or groups of illuminated pins 28 in accordance with which of the brush elements SS and S1 through S are contacted. The brush elements are positioned substantially as illustrated in FIG. 5, with the strike zone brush contacts SS being positioned as indicated and with the brushes S1 through S10 being positioned immediately adjacent the respective pin lamps L1 through L10. When the ball strikes or contacts appropriate ones of the brush contacts 48, then the given combination of lights L1 through L10 that are extinguished by operation of the circuit illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, are in accordance with the chart of FIG. 4. It may be observed in FIG. 4, that closing brush contact SS will result in the extinguishing of lamps L1 through L10 or all of the lamps, displaying that a strike has occurred and that all of the pins have been knocked down. Should the ball be moved to contact for example, pin lamps L1 and L5 corresponding to brush contacts S1 and S5, then by examination of the chart on FIG. 4, it may be observed that all of the pin lamps 28 will be extinguished with the exceptionof pin lamps L7 and L10. This corresponds with the normal result of a bowling ball striking the first pin S1. Other combinations of pin lamps 28 are extinguished by, for example, a ball passing off to the left side and contacting the switch brush S4 which extinguishes lights L4, L7, and L8.

The conductive ball may also be a conductive disk, puck, or the like and as the ball passes across plate 24 it may contact more than one brush contact. The additional brush circuit may shut off other lights in correspondence with a normal bowling game. The brushes 48 may be made of relatively soft conductive wire or they may be made of a more stiff, resilient conducting wire. Where the conducting wire is of a relatively soft conducting material, or where the balls 52 have a relatively heavy weight, then the ball passes through the brushes 48 and is not deflected thereby. However, where the ball 52 has a relatively light weight and the brushes 48 have a resilient spring strength, then the ball 52 may be deflected off to the side depending upon which side or at what angle the ball contacts the individual brushes 48. This gives a glancing movement effect that corresponds with the similar glancing movement that a bowling ball has in a normal bowling game after the ball strikes a pin. As for example, when the conductor ball 52 strikes a stiff brush $1, on the right side, then the ball may be deflected in brush contact S3. This would result in the further extinguishing of pin lamp L10, which pin lamp would not otherwise be extinguished. On the other hand should the ball strike the left side of brush contact S1, then pin lamp S7 would also be extinguished.

In the electrical control circuit, see FIG. 6, a known power supply 118 receives power through a normal line plug connector that is opened and closed by switch 122. Indicator lamp 120 displays when the power is on. The power supply 118 supplies DC voltage through lines 124 and 126 to parallel connected circuits comprising trigistors 72 and 116 and pin lamps L1 through L10. Condcutor lines such as lines 130 and 132 complete the parallel circuits. When the bases of the trigistors,

brush contacts SS through 54. It should be understood that for purposes of explanation, only brush contacts SS through S4 of brush contacts SS through S10 are illustrated. However, similar diode connections would also be a part of the circuit for the remainder of the brush contacts 85 through S10 as illustrated in the chart of FIG. 4.

When for example a conductive ball closes brush contact SS with plate 24, then positive potential is fed from line 104 through the line 108, through the multiple diode bank 110 and through the illustrated connections to the respective bases of all of the trigistors 72 and 116. This positive potential to the bases of the respective trigistors, deenergizes the trigistors thus extinguishing lamps L1 through L10 indicating that there has been a strike. When the conductive ball for example contacts brush S4, then the circuit is closed through three diodes to supply positive potential to the respective trigistors of the pin lamp circuits L4, L7 and L8, extinguishing these three pin lamps. This is in accordance with the chart of FIG. 4.'The circuits for brush contacts S5 through S10 (not shown) would have similar 'diode connections to accomplish the extinguishing of the respective pin lamps per the chart of FIG. 4.

Relative to the physical orientation, see FIG. 3, diode 84 corresponds to diode 102 of FIG. 6 and line 50 corresponds to line 104 with the sides of each of the switches SS through S4 corresponding to the conductor plate 24 and the respective brush contacts. Lines 60 and 62 for example and diodes 64 and 66 are parts of switch contacts S1 and SS and correspond to the common connection of these diodes to the first pin lamp L1, which through line 68 and line 70 is connected to supply the positive potential from ri-V to the trigistor 72. This deenergizes the trigistor 72 and interrupts the voltage from rl-V I through line 74 and through the lamp 28 of L2 to the return such as trigistors 72 and 116 are biased with a negative potenpotential energizes all of the trigistors and thus illuminates all of the lamps. It may be understood that the trigistor devices 72 and 116 function as gates and other appropriate devices may also be used such as SCR or Dynaquad devices.

Line 100 supplies positive potential through diode 102 and common line 104 to the respective switch element circuits of potential line 76. Diode 78 and line 80 correspond to the plurality of diodes connected to the common terminal 128 that pass negative current through the pushbutton reset switch 82 to the respective trigistors.

In operation, a ball as for example ball 22, is rolled down the alley 36 in the direction of the illuminated pins 28. If desired, a suitable rolling device 116 may be used to move the ball down alley 36 and thus keep the players from throwing the ball onto the surface of alley 36. The ball moves in a given path toward the illuminated pins and, in a direct simulation of the normal game of bowling, contacts one of the brushes 48. The conductive ball closes the respective circuit extinguishing the illumination of certain of the illuminated pins 28. The ball then passes down onto return plate 20 to be returned and reused. After the two balls of a normal bowling frame are moved down the alley 36, then reset switch 82, that is placed at an appropriate position on the bowling device 10, is depressed again illuminating all the pin lamps for the next frame. The game is then repeated in the known manner until the appropriate number of frames of a bowling game are played.

It may be seen that I have provided a relatively uncomplicated and inexpensive bowling game that does not require any moving parts to be actuated other than the rolling of the ball.

Having described my invention, 1 now claim.

I claim:

1. In a bowling game,

an alley having a playing surface,

a plurality of illuminable pin-shaped members positioned in a ten pin set in a spaced position above one end of said aly,

circuit means operable by a movable member moved on said alley for selectively controlling the illumination of selective ones of said pin-shaped members,

said pin members are supported on a platform spaced above said alley and said movable member passes between said platform and said alley,

said movable member has a conductive surface,

and said' circuit means including a conductor plate on said alley and brush contacts suspended from said platform for being electrically connected by contact of said movable member.

2. in a bowling game as claimed-in claim I in which,

ing current path and at least one of said suspended brush contacts is located in alignment therewith for contact by said movable conductor member in coordination with the path of movement by said movable conductor member on said alley to close said current path.

3..ln a bowling game as claimed in claim 2 in which,

'each of saidilluminable members have a given correspondsaid circuit means has switch means that are normally closed for illuminating each ofsaid illuminable members,

and said current paths when completed by said movable conductor member opens selective ones of said switch means.

4.111 a bowling game as claimed in claim 1 in which,

said brush contacts are suspended in an orientation corresponding with the orientation of said pin members,

said pin members are normally illuminated,

and said circuit means extinguishes selective groups of said illuminated pin members upon closing given circuits through said brush contacts and said conductor plate.

5. In a bowling game as claimed in claim 1 in which,

said circuit means includes switch contacts,

and said switch contacts include said brush contacts suspended below said platform in an orientation corresponding with the orientation of said pin members. 

1. In a bowling game, an alley having a playing surface, a plurality of illuminable pin-shaped members positioned in a ten pin set in a spaced position above one end of said alley, circuit means operable by a movable member moved on said alley for selectively controlling the illumination of selective ones of said pin-shaped members, said pin members are supported on a platform spaced above said alley and said movable member passes between said platform and said alley, said movable member has a conductive surface, and said circuit means including a conductor plate on said alley and brush contacts suspended from said platform for being electrically connected by contact of said movable member.
 2. In a bowling game as claimed in claim 1 in which, each of said illuminable members have a given corresponding current path and at least one of said suspended brush contacts is located in alignment therewith for contact by said movable conductor member in coordination with the path of movement by said movable conductor member on said alley to close said current path.
 3. In a bowling game as claimed in claim 2 in which, said circuit means has switch means that are normally closed for illuminating each of said illuminable members, and said current paths when completed by said movable conductor member opens selective ones of said switch means.
 4. In a bowling game as claimed in claim 1 in which, said brush contacts are suspended in an orientation corresponding with the orientation of said pin members, said pin members are normally illuminated, and said circuit means extinguishes selective groups of said illuminated pin members upon closing given circuits through said brush contacts and said conductor plate.
 5. In a bowling game as claimed in claim 1 in which, said circuit means includes switch contacts, and said switch contacts include said brush contacts suspended below said platform in an orientation corresponding with the orientation of said pin members. 